Virus
by gladrags2012
Summary: The team have to cope when everything stops working. All the gadgets are useless. Can they manage on their wits alone ?
1. Chapter 1

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? (Yes, it's a semi-colon and probably not in the right place. I'm just a rebel.)**

**Before I forget again, I do not own any of the MI High characters, I have just borrowed them for a while.**

"Frank, should the screen be doing this ?" Aneisha asked Frank. Frank turned round from what he was doing, and distractedly looked at the big screen. Big zig zags zapped across the screen, distorting and hiding the image they were trying to look at, then the image started to freeze and pixilate into tiny jumbled squares.

"Hm ? No," said Frank. "Must have developed a fault. Never mind. Just use the computers instead," he said, turning back to his own screen.

Tom huffed and turned to his laptop. "OK, I'll load it on to here," he said. The others crowded round so they could see. It was a bit cramped getting all four of them round Tom's laptop screen. Zoe could feel Dan's breath on her shoulder. Dan could smell Zoe's hair conditioner. Tom could feel Aneisha pressed against his shoulder. It was seriously distracting, but in a nice way. "I can't see anything," said Tom, after they'd all stared for a minute.

"Me neither," admitted Aneisha. "This is supposed to be a top security base isn't it ? All I can see are trees," she complained.

"Maybe they photographed the wrong place," suggested Dan. "One bit of a forest must look a lot like another."

They all continued peering at the image, hoping to see something of interest. Dan was the first to give up. "OK, nothing ! I'm going to head back up," he said, looking at his watch. "PE starts in fifteen minutes. I want to get my kit out of the locker. Anyone else coming ?" he asked. Aneisha and Zoe also decided to head up. Tom wanted to stay a little longer. He was excused from PE because of a sore knee. He was refusing to tell the others how he'd hurt his knee, so they guessed it had to have been something pretty mundane. He'd probably slipped on an empty biscuit wrapper suggested Aneisha on the way up in the lift. The others were laughing when the lift suddenly stopped.

The lift stopped so suddenly that they were all thrown up in the air. Zoe managed to land on her hands and feet. Aneisha and Dan crashed down in a heap. "Ow !" shouted Aneisha as her head banged off the wall of the lift. Dan grunted as he fell flat on his back on the lift floor. Dan gazed around dizzily for a few seconds, before Zoe's concerned face swam into view.

"Dan, are you alright ?" she asked anxiously.

"Mmmm, wha' ?" said Dan, struggling up into a sitting position. Aneisha was sitting, leaning against the lift wall, rubbing her head. "M fine," he mumbled, still looking confused.

Zoe pulled out her communicator and called Frank. The communicator made a loud hissing noise as she activated it. "Frank ? Frank can you hear me ?" she asked. The device hissed again. "Frank ?" repeated Zoe. The anxiety was clear in her voice.

After what seemed an age, Frank's voice muddily cut through the hissing noise. "Zoe ? What's the matter. I'm afraid we're having a few technical problems down here. Can you make it quick ?" asked Frank.

"Frank, the lift stopped !" said Zoe.

"Oh. Are you at the top ?" asked Frank.

"No. I mean, I don't know where we are. It just stopped completely and knocked us all off our feet," said Zoe. "We're in school uniform," she added. She could hear Frank's voice talking to Tom in the background, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Is anyone hurt ?" asked Frank finally. Zoe glanced at Aneisha and Dan who both shook their heads.

"We're just a bit shaken up," said Zoe. "We're OK."

"OK, well try to relax. We'll see if we can do something from down here," Frank assured her.

Zoe sat down on the floor next to Aneisha, leaning against the wall. "How's your head ?" Zoe asked Aneisha.

"I'll live," said Aneisha. "It was just a shock, you know ?"

"Yeah. Know what you mean," agreed Zoe. Dan stood up and staggered slightly, putting his hand out against the wall to prop himself upright. "Dan, are you OK ? Why don't you sit down for a minute. Frank's going to try to get us moving again," she said.

"Yeah, I'm OK. There's a hatch in the roof. I was going to try to get it open and see where we are," said Dan, jumping to reach the hatch. His fingers touched it, but he couldn't push it open. Sighing, Zoe got up to help him. Dan wasn't a sitting down and waiting kind of guy.

As soon as she stood up, the lift lurched upwards, making Zoe and Dan fall to their knees, before just as suddenly dropping down again. Zoe screamed out, but managed to land on her hands and feet again. Dan didn't and fell flat on his face. Aneisha managed to stay in a sitting position, propping herself up with her arms. "Aargh !" groaned Dan. "I'd really like them to stop trying now !" he complained.

Zoe pulled out her communicator again. "Frank ! Please stop ! The lift is jerking about and throwing us around," shouted Zoe into the crackling, hissing device. "Frank ?" she called out.

"Team ! Sorry. I don't think we can control the lift from down here," came Frank's distant voice through the static hiss. "I'll come up to the top and see if I can get you out from there," he said. "Hold tight, we'll get you out !"

Zoe looked at the others. "Frank says to wait. He'll try to get us out from the top." Dan was getting to his feet, wincing and feeling his ribs.

"I'll add those to my bruise collection," he complained, looking up at the roof of the lift. "Zoe, if you sat on my shoulders, you could reach the hatch much better," suggested Dan. Zoe sighed. No, Dan was not the sit and wait guy in the team. Dan looked back down to her and waved his hands to her to get up on his shoulders. Zoe did as he asked and jumped up on to his shoulders. Dan grunted and straightened up, spreading his feet wide. "OK, got you. Give it a good push," he instructed Zoe. Zoe lifted her arms and could now easily reach the hatch. She pushed and it lifted very slightly. It was quite heavy.

"I'll have to give it a really hard push," she warned Dan. He nodded. Zoe raised both hands and slammed them into the hatch, making Dan stagger slightly and groan. The hatch lifted right up on its hinges, and she was able to catch it and push it open properly. Dan lowered her down and she jumped off his shoulders. All three of them stood and stared up through the hatch. They were looking up into inky blackness. "I can't see anything," said Zoe. As soon as she stopped speaking, all the lights in the lift went out and they were plunged into darkness.

"Oh great !" said Dan.

"I think we're going to have to wait for Frank," said Aneisha.

Down in HQ, Tom was trying to make sense of what was going on with their equipment. "Frank, everything is going weird. Is it just me or is it freezing in here ?" asked Tom, rubbing his arms.

"Tom, you're going to have to leave that. We need to help the others," said Frank, walking back into the main room. "The lift has stopped and they're trapped. I tried to get it moving again with the manual override, but apparently it just went up and down and threw them around inside. I daren't try again. Anything could happen."

"Oh. How do we get to them ?" asked Tom.

"Well, I think there's a ladder in the shaft. I can't really remember," said Frank. "The designs are probably in the system," he said, staring at the computers which were all showing random files and images. "Now's probably not the best time," he added. "I'll get some rope."

"How do we get up there ?" asked Tom.

"The stairs," said Frank's retreating voice.

"Stairs ? Did you say stairs ?" asked Tom, sounding slightly panicked. "Frank, I've got a bad knee. How many stairs are there ?" he asked.

Frank came back out with a large coil of rope slung over his shoulder. He looked at Tom and frowned. "Hm. Rather a lot I'm afraid. OK, you stay here. I'll go up."

Tom felt a bit ashamed of himself. "Sorry Frank. I really don't think I could make it up the stairs right now. I'd probably struggle a bit normally, but my knee's really killing me," he said.

"How did you do it ?" asked Frank, curiously.

Tom sighed. "I tripped over the kerb," he admitted. "I was texting."

Frank smiled. "I don't suppose you're the first and you definitely won't be the last. See what you can do down here alright ?" he said. Tom nodded gratefully and turned back to the computers.


	2. Chapter 2

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

"_How did you do it ?" asked Frank, curiously._

_Tom sighed. "I tripped over the kerb," he admitted. "I was texting."_

_Frank smiled. "I don't suppose you're the first and you definitely won't be the last. See what you can do down here alright ?" he said. Tom nodded gratefully and turned back to the computers._

Frank puffed his way up the last fifty steps. He was sure his previous team told him how many there were, but he hadn't paid any attention. He couldn't remember the last time he'd used the stairs. He shouldn't let himself get so out of condition. Gasping for breath Frank checked he was wearing his janitor's disguise. Oops ! He'd nearly forgotten the glasses. Frank took one last deep breath and stepped out into the storage cupboard down the corridor from the janitor's cupboard. Leaving the storage cupboard he turned and found himself standing directly in front of Mr. Flatley, school headmaster.

"Good Afternoon Frank !" Mr. Flatley greeted him.

"Oh, erm, Afternoon Mr. F.," replied Frank. He realised that Mr. Flatley was staring at something on his shoulder. Mouth open, Mr. Flatley pointed at Frank's shoulder.

"Frank, why are you carrying all that rope around ?" asked Mr. Flatley.

Frank's brain raced. Yes, why was he carrying a huge coil of rope ? "Well, funny you should ask Mr. F.," grinned Frank. Why ? Why ? "Well, I was checking up on the right sort of rope for the gymnastics equipment, see, Mr. F.," said Frank, smiling encouragingly, "In case we need some new ones, like," he said, stroking the rope. Luckily for him, Mr. Flatley bought it.

"Well, you do like to plan ahead don't you Frank," said Mr. Flatley admiringly. "Well done. Must be off. I've got a class to prepare for." Frank waved him off and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Checking around him for onlookers, he sauntered down the corridor to the janitor's cupboard and opened the lock. He pulled the door open and stepped inside carefully. As he had suspected, the lift had not returned. The false floor was in place from where the lift had disappeared. Frank dropped his rope on the floor and pulled out the manual override control panel to open up the false floor. When he pressed the right button, half of the floor slid away underneath the wall of shelving.

Frank leaned over and looked down the lift shaft. He searched around and found a large torch. He pointed it down the shaft. In the distance he could just make out the roof of the lift. "Frank ? Frank is that you ?" called a distant voice. It sounded like Zoe.

"Yes, it's me. Are you alright ?" called Frank. He didn't want to yell too loudly in case anyone was listening in the school corridor.

"We're OK. We managed to get the roof hatch open, but all the lights went out," called up Zoe. Frank played his torch around and it lit up a metal access ladder running down the side of the shaft.

"Can you climb up through the hatch ?" called Frank. "There's a ladder running up the side of the shaft. I'll shine my torch on to it so you can find it," promised Frank. Straining his eyes in the gloom he could make out movement on the roof of the lift. From the flash of red, he guessed that Zoe was the first out. He angled the torch to shine on the ladder in the hope that they would find it. He watched as the flash of red moved to one side of the lift shaft and stayed there. That must be Zoe on the ladder. A horrible thought played through Frank's mind. What if the lift suddenly started moving. The team were all in the lift shaft.

Frank jumped up and dashed to the control panel. He disabled the lift's operation. Phew ! He should have done that in the first place. He dashed back to the lift shaft and shone his torch back on the ladder.

When Frank told them to climb on to the lift roof, Aneisha didn't look too keen. "What if the lift starts moving again," she asked. "We'll be pulverised !"

"Frank will make sure the lift doesn't start off again. I'm sure of it," promised Zoe. "Can you give me a boost Dan ?" she asked. Dan cupped his hands for her to put her foot in, and straining, lifted her up until she could reach the hatch rim. Zoe grabbed the rim and pulled herself up out of the lift.

"Do you want to go next Aneisha, or shall I help you from outside ?" asked Dan.

"I think I'll go next," said Aneisha. Dan cupped his hands again for her. Putting her foot into Dan's hands, Aneisha tried to quickly push herself up. Reaching with her hands, she tried to ignore Dan's groan as he lifted her. Zoe made it look so easy. How did she make it look so easy ? Feeling for the hatch with her hands, she felt Zoe's hands grabbing hers and lifting. Between Zoe pulling and Dan pushing, she shot up through the hatch and half sat, half fell on to the lift roof. She'd done it ! "Thanks guys," said Aneisha gratefully. "I don't think I could have done that without you."

"No worries," said Dan from below. "Zoe, could you give me a hand too please ?" Zoe knelt down by the hatch and reached down to grab Dan's arms. He was a lot heavier that Aneisha and she strained to pull his hands up to the edge of the hatch. Once he'd got his hands on to the edge of the hatch he easily pulled himself up and out of the hole. Aneisha envied the other two their seemingly effortless gymnastic ability. They always seemed so graceful when they were running around. It made her feel clumsy. She wondered if Tom felt the same.

"Where's the ladder ?" asked Dan. Trust Mr. Practical to keep things on track !

Zoe looked up the shaft to Frank's light. "It should be over here," she said, reaching over carefully and feeling around in the near blackness. "Oh," she said, pulling back.

"What's the matter ?" asked Aneisha, feeling scared.

"There's a gap between the lift and the wall," explained Zoe. "Step where I step," she said, reaching across and stepping carefully on to the ladder.

"I can't see where you stepped," said Aneisha.

"Me neither," said Dan. "I'm not sufficiently nocturnal," he added drily. This made Aneisha giggle. "You go next Aneisha," said Dan. "We'll find the ladder together, alright ?" Aneisha nodded, which was pointless really. Dan couldn't see her.

"Erm, I mean yes," she said. She felt Dan's hand finding and holding hers, then they reached out their arms until Dan felt his hand brush a metal bar.

"Got it !" he said, pulling Aneisha's hand up to the bar. It was a rung on the ladder. Aneisha felt outwards for the side bars with both hands and then stepped out until her foot round a rung. She stepped on to the ladder and it creaked slightly. "OK Zoe, you start moving," said Dan. "We're following." Zoe started to work her way up the ladder. As usual, she made faster progress than Aneisha. She was glad that Dan was below her. The ladder groaned again when Dan's weight landed on it. Aneisha hoped it was designed to hold three agents.

The climb to the top of the ladder took ages. Even Zoe looked tired when she finally made it out into the janitor's cupboard with Frank. Aneisha arrived, puffing a few minutes later, followed by a red-faced Dan. They sat for a minute to get their breath back. Dan checked his watch. "Oh no. We're going to be late for PE," he said, pulling himself to his feet. "We'd better go Frank. See you later." Frank waved them goodbye, pulled the false floor back and then re-enabled the lift. Maybe it would find its way to the top or bottom of the shaft. He could climb down the stairs to see how Tom was getting on. On the other hand, he could just stay up top and get on with a few janitorial duties. Tough call. He stayed up top.

Zoe, Aneisha and Dan grabbed their PE kit and dashed for the gym. They all had to change in record time and just managed to tag on to the tail ends of their groups heading outside. Dan had rugby and the two girls were playing hockey. By the end of the lesson their calves were aching. The ladder had provided enough of a workout for that day.

At the end of day, Dan met with Aneisha and Zoe back by their lockers. There was no sign of Tom. Aneisha pulled out her communicator and called up Frank. "Hey Frank, is the lift still out of order ?" she asked, through the interference.

Frank sounded out of breath when he answered. "Yes I'm afraid it is, and that's not all. You'd better come down to HQ," instructed Frank.

"Erm, how do we get there ?" asked Aneisha. "The lift's not working."

"Use the stairs," explained Frank. "Use the storage cupboard at the far end of the corridor with the janitor's cupboard. The entrance to the stairs is through there. Push the red paint tin on the shelf."

"Okaaay," said Aneisha slowly, looking at the others. They were frowning at her. "Frank, how many stairs are there ?" asked Aneisha.

"Lord knows ! I'm trying not to think about it," said Frank. "I'm not sure that Tom's going to go home," he complained. This made them all grin, and they closed the call and set off for the storage cupboard.


	3. Chapter 3

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

"_Okaaay," said Aneisha slowly, looking at the others. They were frowning at her. "Frank, how many stairs are there ?" asked Aneisha._

"_Lord knows ! I'm trying not to think about it," said Frank. "I'm not sure that Tom's going to go home," he complained. This made them all grin, and they closed the call and set off for the storage cupboard._

Zoe, Aneisha and Dan staggered out of the stair well, pulling on their MI High uniforms and doing up the buttons and zips. Frank turned to greet them. "Well done team. Have a sit down and get your breath back. Tom's been working all afternoon to find out what's going on with our equipment," he explained.

Tom turned in his chair and looked surprised to see the rest falling into chairs. Dan was sitting on the floor with his back to a pillar. "How many stairs are there ?" he asked suspiciously.

"You really don't want to know," panted Dan.

Looking worried, Tom turned back to his computer. "Well, as far as I can tell, the lift has got the gremlins. The mechanism seems to be fine, but the control system has gone completely haywire. The communications system is not working properly. It isn't filtering out local noise and feedback as it should be. All of the computers are affected as well," he complained. As he spoke, his laptop made a loud whirring noise and the screen froze. "No ! Don't do this to me !" shouted Tom, slapping the side of his laptop.

"Careful Tom !" warned Frank. "You'll wreck the disk heads !"

"Oh no ! That was the last working machine," groaned Tom. "What are we going to do now ?"

"What's causing it all then ?" asked Dan.

"It has to be some kind of viral attack," explained Frank. Tom nodded in agreement.

"I think it's attacked anything that's been connected to the MI9 network during the last 24 hours," said Tom.

"So anything that hasn't been on the network in that time, won't be affected," suggested Dan.

"Well yes, but everything is connected all the time," explained Tom holding his head in his hands.

"Mine isn't," said Dan. "I haven't been on my laptop since Wednesday evening," he said. "Maybe there are some computers in cupboards which haven't been used for a while," he suggested.

"Yes. That's not a bad idea Dan, but we won't be able to communicate with anything. All the databases are accessible via the MI9 network and we won't be able to use it without infecting our kit again," explained Tom. "The equipment is not much use without the data."

"What's happening to the rest of MI9 ?" asked Aneisha. "Is it just us ?"

"No, according to Stella, the whole of MI9's network has been infected," explained Frank. "We're cut off and pretty helpless, until they've managed to close everything down and disinfect it. That could take a week, according to technical." There was a pause as everyone took this in.

"So, we're completely helpless for a whole week," said Zoe.

"No. We don't need a computer for everything," said Dan.

"Dan, we use them for everything," said Tom. "Communications, intelligence, cross-referencing, tracking, image recognition, everything. All the modern equipment communicates via the network with everything else. It's all interconnected and it's all infected. Nothing is working properly. We can work, but we'll be working blind."

"Have we got any missions Frank ?" asked Zoe.

"No, not at the moment, but whoever has done this is probably not going to waste much time getting busy. They must have done this for a reason," said Frank. "I'm not even sure we are going to be able to detect any criminal activity. You might as well go home. I will phone you if there's anything you can do. That goes for you too Tom. Get some rest. I'll go to MI9 HQ to see if there is anything we can use to clear up this mess."

Tom looked crestfallen. "How many stairs are there ?" he asked the others.

"Twice as many as there were on the way down I'm guessing," said Aneisha, getting up and groaning.

Half way up the stairs Tom sat down heavily on one of the steps, rubbing his sore knee and said, "I think I'll just spend the night here."

The others laughed and sat down with him. "So, all the modern equipment won't work ?" asked Dan.

"No, nothing," said Tom.

"What about the old stuff ?" asked Dan.

"What old stuff ?" asked Tom.

"Well, you know I've got this collection don't you ?" said Dan. "You know. Antique spy stuff. I've got loads of old things. Maybe you could use some of that," he suggested.

Tom looked at Dan with a faint sense of hope. "You know. That's not a bad idea. Can I have a look at it ?" he asked.

"Yeah. Course. Come round to mine and you can go through it all," said Dan. "It might be worth a try." Tom grinned. Dan helped him to his feet and they dragged him the rest of the way up the stairs.

Once they reached the school level, Zoe headed off for her foster home, walking with Aneisha. Tom went home and had his tea before heading round to Dan's house. Dan showed him up to his room where his laptop was. "I haven't switched it on or anything today. I didn't want to risk infecting it with anything, so I thought I'd leave it to you," he promised Tom. "How come your computer is infected then ?" he asked.

"I keep mine connected to the MI9 network all the time so I'll receive updates as they happen," explained Tom. "Also I have some online gaming buddies who tend to email me at weird hours. I'm permanently connected," he explained. Dan frowned.

"Do you need to be permanently connected ?" he asked. "You want to leave a bit of space for real life don't you ?"

"It is real life !" complained Tom. "Where's this collection then ?" he asked. Sighing, Dan lead him up a small set of stairs into the loft room of his parent's house. Piled up at one end of the loft room was a mass of old equipment. Some of it was in boxes, but most was simply piled up together.

"I knew you kept all this old junk, but I didn't realise how much you had !" said Tom, amazed.

"Hey, less of the old junk please," complained Dan. "It might be useful, remember !"

Tom just smiled and started sorting through some of the old gear while muttering to himself, "Hm, satellite location beacon. That might be handy. Old spy-pod, still got its circuitry. Spy camera ! Wow, what's this brown stuff ?" he asked suddenly.

"I think it's film or something," explained Dan, prodding the camera. "I think you're not supposed to open it up to the light though," he warned.

"Oops ! Sorry," said Tom. "This stuff isn't bad. I reckon I can do something with it. Maybe build a basic tracker of some sort, or maybe a scanner."

"That would be good enough for me Tom," said Dan, smiling at his friend. "See, the old stuff sometimes comes in handy doesn't it ?"


	4. Chapter 4

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

"_Oops ! Sorry," said Tom. "This stuff isn't bad. I reckon I can do something with it. Maybe build a basic tracker of some sort, or maybe a scanner."_

"_That would be good enough for me Tom," said Dan, smiling at his friend. "See, the old stuff sometimes comes in handy doesn't it ?"_

Tom went home with his arms filled by Dan's laptop and a selection of antique spy equipment. Dan's Dad offered to give him a lift home when he saw him limping down the stairs with the pile of electronics. When his father came home, Dan asked him why he was laughing. His father explained, "Your mate Tom was telling me how surprised he was that you kept all this antique equipment. I said to him that some of it must be at least five years old and he said that some of it might even be older," his Dad laughed.

"Well, five years is ages isn't it ?" asked Dan, leaning against the wall.

"Really ? I remember when you were five years old and believe me, you weren't an antique !" laughed his Dad. Dan frowned at his Dad. This was definitely parent humour. He smiled and nodded politely and then went back up to his room. There was homework.

Tom spent his evening fiddling with the innards of Dan's collection. Tom balanced a circuit board on top of a pile of Blade Quest books and Blade Quest computer games. He knocked over a pile of trading cards trying to reach for his soldering iron. He smiled to himself thinking how funny it was that people like Dan obsessively collected such weird stuff. At least it was now coming in handy.

On Saturday, each of the team received a phone call from Frank. Tom answered his phone shortly after breakfast. "Tom, I'm afraid I was right. It wasn't long before the trouble started. Can you meet me over at Dan's house this morning. There's no point coming to HQ. I haven't had any success getting any of the equipment working. I'll pick you all up from there," said Frank.

"Oh Frank, I've built a couple of simple trackers and a radio communicator," said Tom. "Do you think I should bring them ?"

"Yes, definitely !" said Frank, sounding pleased. "How did you manage it ?" he asked.

"I used some of Dan's old spy equipment collection. You wouldn't believe what old stuff he's got in his loft," said Tom.

Dan was leaving his house just as Aneisha and Tom arrived. They walked round the corner of the road and climbed into a black van with Frank at the wheel. They each were carrying their usual rucksack. Frank wondered what they were all carrying. None of their gadgets were going to be any use. Maybe they'd brought a packed lunch.

Frank drew up and parked the van beside a medium sized caravan. They followed him inside and all stood crowded in the entrance way, gazing around them in surprise. Frank sat down opposite Stella at a formica table at the end of the caravan.

"Erm, not the usual comms van then," suggested Tom.

Stella seemed to growl slightly, "No, well, nothing seems to be working very well at the moment," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Nice place you've got !" said Dan cheerfully, looking at the little, flowery curtains and small aluminium kettle sitting on the stove.

This only seemed to make Stella's shoulders stiffen even more. "It's not to my usual taste," she said, with her teeth clenched together.

Frank attempted to lighten her mood. "Well, it could have been a lot worse," he suggested cheerfully. Stella glared at him. "Stark's got the portable toilet block," he added. This made Stella giggle, and she quickly covered her mouth guiltily.

"Shall we er, sit down ?" asked Aneisha, eyeing up the rather limited seating space around the table.

"Yes, of course," agreed Frank, shifting up to the end of the bench. Tom sat next to Stella and Zoe sat next to Frank. This left a very narrow space at either side of the table. Aneisha and Dan looked at one another. There was more space next to Zoe. Dan really wanted to sit up close to Zoe, but thought he ought to let Aneisha sit in the bigger space since she had lady sized hips. He wasn't sure though if she would be insulted if he suggested it. Aneisha really didn't want to sit up close to Tom, but didn't want to upset him by saying so.

"Erm," Dan and Aneisha said, simultaneously, "how about, yeah !" they said, each diving into a different space. They were now all jammed in like sardines. Stella managed to work her arms free to pull out some paperwork.

"Fortunately our old teleprinter seems to be unaffected by the recent computer virus so we were able to receive this from police headquarters," she said, showing them a long printout with a red box drawn around one set of text.

The printout read, 'Unusual activity around abandoned factory building Glasgow stop Significant number of deliveries noted stop Coordinates are...' with a set of numbers. Frank slid an Ordnance Survey map out of his jacket pocket and opened it up on the table. It covered the whole table. He tried to reach across the map to point to a location with his pen. He couldn't reach past Zoe. "Zoe, can you reach those coordinates please ?" he asked. Zoe took his pen and tried to reach, but she couldn't reach past Aneisha.

"Aneisha ..." began Zoe.

Dan groaned and said, "Oh, for goodness sake !" and he took the map and rotated it round the opposite way.

"Ah, thanks Dan," said Frank taking his pen back. He drew a small 'X' on the map of the location they were interested in. "Here !" he said, putting his pen away. They all craned to see where the factory was located. It was on a large industrial complex near the river.

"What are those buildings ?" asked Aneisha.

"Old shipyards apparently," said Stella.

"We need you four to mount an operation to get inside and find out what they are up to," said Frank. "The only problem is, we have no way of tracking you or keeping surveillance," he added. "You're going to be working blind and we won't be able to provide you with much protection should anything go wrong. We haven't got communicators."

When he said this Tom, Dan, Aneisha and Zoe each pulled a mobile phone out of their pockets and put them on the table. "What about these ?" asked Dan.

"Are they still working ?" asked Frank.

"Well mine isn't internet enabled," said Aneisha. "My parents won't let me have one, because they think it's too dangerous." Frank stared at her in surprise. "They think I could get mugged for my phone," said Aneisha, rolling her eyes. The others all nodded in agreement. Frank lifted his eyebrows, but didn't comment.

"Well, you can call each other, but we don't have a way of talking to all of you at once," said Frank.

"I could connect the radio communicator I built up to my phone and then use that to talk to everyone," suggested Tom. "They would only need to wear the phone ear pieces for it to work. I also have two working trackers which I can use with Dan's laptop."

"Excellent Tom !" said Stella. "Where are they ?"

"In my bag. Erm, it's under the table," said Tom trying to pull the bag up from under the table. It kept sticking between his knees and the table. Dan sighed again and leant over to look under the table. He reached under, took hold of Tom's backpack and hauled it out from under the table and put it on top in front of Tom.

"Here !" said Dan.

"Oh, thanks," said Tom, reaching in for his equipment. He put Dan's laptop on the table alongside a small collection of bits. It looked like a collection of rather random electronic components to the others, but they knew better than to criticise Tom's work. "All I need is a socket for the laptop," said Tom triumphantly. He looked round at Stella and Frank, who looked at one another. Frank shook his head. "No sockets ?" asked an astounded Tom. Frank looked around the caravan, and Tom did the same. There were no electrical sockets. "Oh. I guess we're running on battery then. That should give us a couple of hours. Is that going to be enough ?" asked Tom.

"I guess it'll have to be," said Dan. "Anyone got any double A's ?"


	5. Chapter 5

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

"_All I need is a socket for the laptop," said Tom triumphantly. He looked round at Stella and Frank, who looked at one another. Frank shook his head. "No sockets ?" asked an astounded Tom. Frank looked around the caravan, and Tom did the same. There were no electrical sockets. "Oh. I guess we're running on battery then. That should give us a couple of hours. Is that going to be enough ?" asked Tom._

"_I guess it'll have to be," said Dan. "Anyone got any double A's ?"_

There was a discussion about how to divide the few working gadgets that they had. In the end, Dan and Zoe were assigned the rather clunky tracking devices. This meant that Aneisha would have to operate as lookout. Frank supplied her with a pair of binoculars and an old style walkie talkie. "You'll be able to talk to me and I'll be able to relay the information to the others," explained Frank. Aneisha stared at the huge lump of plastic in her hand.

"They used to be this big !" she said astonished.

"They used to be bigger," said Stella.

Tom would be following the progress of the trackers on Dan's laptop and translating the results on to a set of paper building plans Frank had obtained for the site. The heap of paper was starting to form a drift at the end of the table as they shuffled through it repeatedly, working out the best route.

Once everyone was satisfied with their role, Dan squeezed himself out from behind the table. He almost popped out like a cork from a bottle, giving out a huge sigh of relief. "Where can we get changed Stella ?" he asked.

"There's some sort of toilet and shower unit in there," said Stella, waving her hand to a small cupboard part way along the caravan. Dan opened the door onto a tiny space. He closed the door again.

"I think I'll just go behind a wall or something," he said, stepping out of the caravan door. Zoe got up and also looked in the cupboard.

"I think I'll do the same," she said.

"You could use the van," suggested Frank, tossing her the keys. Zoe smiled her thanks and left for the van. Aneisha followed her. The two girls changed in the van, glad that it had blacked out windows. They were just packing their bags ready to go when they heard Dan's voice.

"Are you both in the van ?" he asked, sounding put out.

"Erm, yeah," said Aneisha, grinning at Zoe. "Why ?" she asked innocently.

"Typical !" complained Dan. "I'm frozen." Zoe climbed out of the van and gave Dan a big hug, to help warm him up, she explained. This earned her a reluctant half smile. "Alright, come on," he said.

Tom gave Zoe and Dan their trackers. "You need to be careful with those. The components are soldered together from different bits of equipment. I don't know how strong they are," he warned them. "I think the battery life on this laptop is going to be about two hours. Maybe two and a half if we're lucky. You need to get in and out fast. Have you got cameras ?" he asked.

Dan had a small digital camera. Zoe had a camera on her phone. "Could you send your photos directly to me please Zoe ?" asked Frank. He looked at Dan's backpack which looked rather full. "What have you got in there Dan ?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, just the usual stuff," said Dan, picking up his backpack and slipping it over one shoulder.

"Swiss army knife, string ?" asked Tom cheekily.

"Yeah. Useful stuff !" said Dan, looking annoyed. "Can we go now then ?"

Frank drove the three field agents out to a street near their target. Most of the surrounding buildings looked derelict. They had identified a multi-storey building which would provide Aneisha with a good vantage point to watch what was going on. Dan and Zoe were going to work their way through some old under-passes to gain entry to the site next to the one they were interested in. They wished each other luck and headed out for their different destinations.

Aneisha found a door to her chosen building which had been forced partially open. She squeezed through hoping she wouldn't meet the person who had forced the door. The building was quite dark and she took out a torch to see where she was putting her feet. Every so often she passed a large broken window which let in a stream of light. This made the gaps between seem even darker as her eyes took time to adjust. She found the stairs and carefully worked her way up the building.

She had lost count of the number of floors she had climbed when a movement in the corner of her eye made her jump. A cat meowed and jumped out of the shadows. Aneisha stifled a cry and put her hand on her chest in an effort to force some deep breaths. This was no time to panic. In truth, she wasn't used to working on her own. It was also odd not having Tom's voice in her ear keeping up a running commentary on progress. In an effort to calm her own nerves she walked up to the cat, holding out her fingers and making a clucking noise. The cat arched its back, hissed and spat. Aneisha jumped backwards. "Well, be like that then !" she muttered to the cat. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out, she started back up the stairs.

After what seemed like an age, Aneisha came to a sign saying 'Roof. No Unauthorised Entry'. An arrow pointed up some narrow stairs leading to a metal door. She couldn't open the door. She pulled a laser cutter out of her backpack. Luckily this didn't need any communications to work. She cut around the door lock and pushed the door open. It opened on to a windswept flat roof area littered with duct outlets and pipework. Unsure what direction she was pointing in, she walked up to the low parapet around the roof and looked down, trying to find the building they were investigating. She had to circle the roof to the other side to find it. Then she crouched down behind the parapet, took out her binoculars and made herself as comfortable as she could.

Aneisha pulled out her walkie talkie and made a call to Frank. "Frank, I'm in position. Are the others there yet ?" she asked.

"They haven't called yet. Their trackers show them near the outside of the building. We can't tell where they are with much precision," explained Frank. She heard Tom's voice in the background, complaining. "That wasn't a criticism Tom," said Frank. "We're very glad to have them," he added. Frank sighed. "I'll let you know when they get in," said Frank. "Anything to report ?"

"No, can't see any movement at all at the moment," reported Aneisha. "I'll call if anything interesting happens," she promised, closing the call. Aneisha glanced behind her across the deserted rooftop and thought that this assignment could get pretty boring.

Dan and Zoe looked around them to check if they were being watched before dashing down a set of concrete steps into a darkened tunnel entrance. Small trees were growing in cracks in the brickwork walls and weeds were growing out of the concrete floor. They both slowed as they entered the dark tunnel, pulling torches out of their pockets and shining them down on to the floor in front of them. There were large patches of water all the way through. Things scurried away as the light hit them. There was a really bad smell. Dan didn't want to think about what the smell might be. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. "Come on. Let's get it over with," said Dan. He wasn't really surprised when Zoe skipped ahead of him. That girl seemed to have no fear. Shaking his head he dashed to catch up.

It was a huge relief to come back out into daylight, albeit in shadow at the other end. The sunlight was now blocked by the shadow of a large looming building ahead of them. Frank had told them this was a shipyard and that the huge building had once contained the carcasses of massive luxury liners and cargo ships being built to be sent all over the world. Now the building was itself an empty carcass. At least it was supposed to be empty. It was their job to find out.

They looked around them, searching for the next tunnel. "This one should take us all the way inside building," whispered Zoe. "I wonder what it was like working here in the old days. It's funny they even built tunnels for all the people to be able to get to work," she said.

"Handy for us," commented Dan.

"There !" said Zoe, pointing to some railings. Looking around them, they dashed over to the railings and down the steps on the other side. Dan crashed into Zoe when she stopped suddenly in front of a wall of wooden planks which had been nailed up over the entrance to the tunnel.

"Oof ! Sorry," gasped Dan. "I was looking behind us." He looked all round the wall trying to find some way in. Zoe pulled out her laser cutter and started to cut an entrance through the wood. Dan hoped it wouldn't set the wood on fire. He'd only used them on metal before. Most master criminals didn't use wood for their security doors. For a moment he had a picture in his head of the Crime Minister and her cohorts as the three little pigs, building their bases out of straw, wood and bricks. He imagined them all huffing and puffing and blowing their base down. Zoe looked at him curiously when he grinned.

"What's funny ?" she asked.

"Oh sorry. I was just thinking," he said, too embarrassed to explain what he'd been thinking about. "Are you all the way through ?" he asked. In answer, Zoe pushed the door shaped hole she had cut and the wood fell away into a dark hole behind.

Dan put his face up to the space and sniffed. "Smells worse than the last one," he complained.


	6. Chapter 6

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

"_Are you all the way through ?" he asked. In answer, Zoe pushed the door shaped hole she had cut and the wood fell away into a dark hole behind. _

_Dan put his face up to the space and sniffed. "Smells worse than the last one," he complained._

Dan was going to step back and let Zoe see for herself, when he remembered that if he did that, Zoe would simply step through the hole and lead the way. Determined not to let her do that again, he pulled out his torch, took a deep breath and stepped through the hole himself. His foot landed in something soft and slimy. He decided not to look down and find out what it was. It would be mud, that's all. Letting the narrow torch beam play across the ground in front of him, he started walking carefully forwards through the tunnel. He heard Zoe step through the gap to follow him.

"You can go a bit faster Dan," said Zoe. Just then something brushed against his face, and he struggled not to panic as he tried to swipe it off. It was probably just a spider's web he reminded himself. "Do you want me to go in front ?" asked Zoe. She obviously meant it well, but Dan's male ego couldn't handle the implication that he wasn't up to the job and instead, started to speed up. Inevitably he caught his foot in some unseen hazard and stumbled to his knees. The ground was damp and slippery, littered with bits of rubble.

"If you don't mind, I think we'll stick to going a bit slower. Otherwise one of us could disappear down a hole we don't know about," said Dan, getting back to his feet and wiping his hands on his trousers. Dan wondered where all the bits of loose brick and concrete were coming from and played his torch on the roof. "Ooh, not good," he said quietly. Zoe also played her torch on the roof. It was pockmarked with holes all the way along. The pieces of brick and concrete on the floor had fallen from the roof.

"It just has to hold out for one more day," said Zoe. "Come on. We'll be fine," she said.

They made their way more slowly down the long underground tunnel, sweeping the floor in front with their torches for obstacles and gaps. There were pools of water in amongst the rubble. After a few minutes they came to a cave-in where the roof had partially collapsed. A pile of rubble stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Dan scrambled up the pile of bricks and soil with difficulty. It slid down each time he dug his feet in. "Be careful Dan. It might bring more down on top of you," warned Zoe. Carefully, Dan pulled bricks and stones away from the top of the pile. Slowly he managed to clear a shallow gap through to the other side of the heap. He glanced back at Zoe apologetically.

"It's not very big, and it could be pretty dangerous," he warned her. "The roof might collapse at any moment."

"We'd better be quick then," said Zoe, quickly scrambling up beside him and pushing herself through the gap.

"Zoe !" hissed Dan in shock. He wanted to pull her back before she hurt herself. The roof could fall down on top of her. Except the roof didn't fall and Zoe made it through.

"Come on !" she said. Dan took off his backpack and pushed it through to Zoe before gingerly forcing himself into the gap. His shoulders were wider than hers and he had to force he way through the narrowest part of the gap. He was nearly through when they both felt as much as heard a low pitched rumble. "No ! Hurry Dan !" squealed Zoe. Dan hurriedly tried to get out of the hole, but soil and debris started to tumble down around him. He felt like he was swimming through mud.

"Get back Zoe ! We could both get trapped," called out Dan. Instead of leaping back out of the way as Dan hoped she would, Zoe reached out her hands and grabbed Dan's hands. She pulled with all her strength and Dan slowly toppled forwards down the slope. More rubble and soil fell down on him as he rolled forward, but thanks to Zoe he managed to ride the wave of grit forwards and away from the main collapse. Once the mound stopped moving, Dan lay on his back buried up to his thighs with his head and shoulders on Zoe's knee. His dropped torch lit up his frightened face.

"Can you pull your legs out ?" asked Zoe. Dan tried, but they were held fast by the weight of the tunnel debris. "Let's push some of this stuff off your legs. We need to get out of here fast," said Zoe. They both brushed grit and rocks from the pile on Dan's legs. After a minute he managed to free first one leg and then the other. He brushed the last of the soil off himself and staggered back. Grabbing his backpack and torch he pulled at Zoe's arm.

"Let's get out of here !" he muttered. The both started to move along the tunnel away from the roof collapse as quickly as they could manage. Finally they were both relieved to come to another boarded up wall. A faint glimmer of light shone through the gaps between the boards. Dan pressed his ear to the wooden panel. "I can't hear anything," he whispered.

Zoe took out her laser cutter again and started to cut a hole in the panel. It started smoking. The wood was catching fire. Coughing through the clouds of smoke, Dan looked around and found a puddle of water. Without bothering to check it he scooped up a handful and threw it over the smoking wood. Grabbing another handful was a mistake. "Ow !" he said, snatching his hand back. Blood started dripping from a cut on his wrist. He wrapped his other hand around the cut while Zoe finished cutting a gap for them. She carefully pulled the free section of wood away and put her head through the gap. She nodded at Dan and waved him through after her. They were in another underground corridor, but this one was well maintained and lit by fluorescent strip lights. Zoe turned and pushed the wooden panel shape back into its hole, leaving it balanced in place.

"Come on. Let's find somewhere we can take a break and sort out your hand," said Zoe. They trotted down the corridor together. There were some stairs at the end which they climbed. Another corridor at the top had several doors leading off. They tried the handle of the first door which opened on to some kind of laboratory. It was deserted, so they ducked inside. Dan went to a metal sink against the wall and ran cold water over the cut on his wrist. He hissed in a breath as the water washed away the blood seeping out of the cut. "Sit down there," instructed Zoe, pointing to a swivel chair. Dan did as he was told while Zoe pulled out a first aid kit. Zoe swabbed the wound with antiseptic before putting a dressing on and tightly wrapping a bandage around Dan's wrist. "Lucky it's not too deep," she said.

As she taped over the dressing Dan looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks," he said. Zoe looked at him with troubled eyes.

"That was horrible," she blurted out. "I thought you were going to be buried."

"Yeah. Me too," said Dan, looking down at his hands. He noticed that Zoe's hands were shaking. "Hey. We're OK. We're both OK," he said reassuringly, pulling Zoe into a hug. "You know, there's one good thing about all our gadgets being useless," he said.

"What's that ?" asked Zoe curiously.

"We can say what we like. Nobody's listening," said Dan with a smile. He kissed her gently on the lips. "Thankyou for rescuing me. Again," said Dan playfully. Zoe smiled shyly back at him before throwing her arms round him and hugging him until he couldn't breathe. "Whoa, take it easy there girl. What will you do when we have a narrow escape ?" Dan laughed. Zoe giggled.

Voices started coming near, outside in the corridor, and they both froze. Motionless and silent they waited until the voices receded into the distance before both breathing out a long sigh.

"We need to get moving. Tom's only got two hours of battery," said Zoe.

"We don't want Tom's batteries to run out," said Dan, straight-faced. Zoe didn't even notice he was joking. He sighed. She was great in many ways, but jokes were not her strong point. Still, cute, clever and agile made up for a lot.

Zoe repacked her bag. Dan rummaged around his bag. "Oh, I left my spy-pod in here. Let's see if it's working," he suggested. He turned on the spy-pod, but the screen just showed lines of interference. "Should have guessed. Don't know why I'm carrying it," he complained, stuffing it back in the bottom of his backpack.

"Why don't you connect it up to one of the computers," suggested Zoe, pointing to the two computers in the room. One appeared to have been left on. "You might be able to get something off them."

Dan shrugged. "Might be worth a try," he said. "It can't make the spy-pod any worse anyway." He pulled out a USB port connecter and connected his spy-pod to the computer. He watched a symbol for the spy-pod appear on the computer screen. He hunted around for files on the computer and found a whole set in the "TOP_SECRET" file. Some people had no imagination ! They might as well label it "STEAL ME FIRST". He copied the files over to his spy-pod. It was impossible to tell whether or not it worked. The spy-pod continued to show a pixilating screen. He removed the icon from the computer for his spy-pod and disconnected. Dan wasn't the computer expert in the team so he didn't know that a tiny little file transferred from his spy-pod to the computer. Nor did he know that the computer checked its network connection automatically and then transferred the little file on to the network. Dan stowed the spy-pod back in his bag.

"Did it work ?" asked Zoe.

"No idea. Let's go," said Dan.

Zoe slowly opened the door of their room and looked outside in the corridor. It appeared to be deserted. She couldn't hear any voices. She waved Dan after her and they left the room, heading on down the corridor.

Up on her roof, Aneisha was starting to feel a bit chilly. The wind was blowing around her all the time and because she was lying still, it was beginning to make her feel cold. She played her binoculars around the site in front of her, trying to keep her mind off it. She wiggled her toes to stop them getting cramp. There had been no movements for ages. Then she spotted a large lorry coming down the road. This was odd because all of the factory sites in this area appeared to be derelict and awaiting demolition. The lorry paused outside the padlocked gates into the shipyard. The gates looked partially broken, with one handing precariously on its hinges. Aneisha gasped as the padlocked and apparently useless gate swung open effortlessly. The lorry quickly drove in and the gates closed behind it. The lorry then drove across the derelict open area around the buildings before disappearing inside the biggest building. Now, that was strange. Aneisha pulled out her walkie talkie. "Frank, a lorry just arrived and went in through some broken gates to the big factory building," she reported.

"Good work Aneisha. I'll tell the others. They appear to be inside now," said Frank.

Frank called Zoe and Dan. Dan felt his phone vibrating silently in his jacket pocket. He pressed his earpiece. "Frank," he whispered.

"Aneisha says a lorry just made its way into the building," reported Frank. "What's your position ?"

"We're in the building. There are people here. We've not made any contact yet," reported Dan. "We'll let you know," he said, closing the call. Zoe nodded to him. She'd heard the conversation.

In a room in a distant part of the factory an operative was examining a screen on his security monitors because a buzzing alarm was going off. He picked up a phone. "Crime minister ? We're picking up a mobile phone signal somewhere in the building," he reported. "We didn't have time to track it Ma'am. It was too brief. Yes, we'll alert the security team," he said.


	7. Chapter 7

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

_In a room in a distant part of the factory an operative was examining a screen on his security monitors because a buzzing alarm was going off. He picked up a phone. "Crime minister ? We're picking up a mobile phone signal somewhere in the building," he reported. "We didn't have time to track it Ma'am. It was too brief. Yes, we'll alert the security team," he said._

Zoe and Dan looked inside a few doors along the corridor length but they were all deserted. Some had a variety of blueprints and schematic diagrams laid out. They took some photographs in the hope that Frank and Tom would be able to work out what was being planned. Then they swiftly moved on down to the end of the corridor. There were some more stairs leading both up and down. They took the stairs up and carefully opened a door on to some kind of balcony area. Checking for people, they dashed out and hid amongst some piles of boxes and reels of cable. They could hear activity going on below and cautiously peered out from their hiding place on to a very active scene.

A lorry was parked in front of some kind of loading bay. A swarm of people were gathered round. Some held lists which were being checked off as boxes, crates and rolls were being unloaded from the lorry. Teams of people with trolleys and carts loaded up the goods and took them away through some large double doors at the end of the bay. As they watched, a small group of armed agents came out of the doors and started checking the people working in the loading bay. They had a conversation with the people holding the clipboards who started gazing all around them in the loading bay. Zoe and Dan ducked back out of sight.

"Do you think they're on to us ?" Dan whispered to Zoe.

"How would they know we're here ?" asked Zoe. "I suppose they could have noticed the hole in the wooden tunnel cover," she said.

"Surely we'd have heard them behind us," said Dan. "It doesn't look like they're putting the place in lockdown. If we keep our heads down, we should be OK." Zoe nodded in agreement. If they didn't do anything to draw attention to themselves, they should be able to continue. They both looked back out of their hiding place to see what was happening. The security people were going back inside the doors with the piles of delivered goods. Soon the lorry was emptied and the driver closed its doors and left. "Doesn't look like anything's coming out of here," said Dan. "I wonder what they're making."

"Let's go and have a look," said Zoe, smiling. Looking around them they crept out of their hiding place. Zoe pointed to a door at the end of the balcony which took them in the same direction as the delivery doors below. Dan nodded his agreement and crouching down they dashed for the end of the balcony. Zoe tried the door but it was locked. She rummaged in her backpack and took out a small metal tool. She started to pick at the lock mechanism. Dan kept a lookout behind them. He wondered how come he was the only one who ever got the electrified door handles. Nobody else in the team ever seemed to get zapped except him. He snapped back to reality when he heard a soft click and the door gently opened.

Zoe and Dan silently pulled the door slowly open and peered through the gap. They were looking out on to a short corridor with another balcony area at the end. They couldn't see anyone. Quickly they darted through the door and pulled it closed behind them. Keeping close to one wall, they hurried up the short corridor. They could hear a lot of noise and activity coming from up ahead. When they reached the end of the corridor they cautiously checked all directions around them and then stepped out on to the balcony. Immediately they ducked down as low as they could and looked over the edge to the scene below.

"Wow. Look at that !" whispered Dan. They were looking out on to a huge open space which must once have been filled with the ships that the yard built. It was the biggest open space that Dan had ever see. "You ever seen anything like this ?" he asked Zoe. She shook her head. They both craned forward trying to see as much as possible. Sitting in the middle of the dry-dock in front of them was a massive submarine. People were swarming all over it, welding and hammering. Other people were carrying materials and equipment inside the giant beast. The constructors appeared to be closing up a final gap in the hull and a few people were ducking through the remaining space, attempting to carry a variety of electronic equipment and boxes inside. A massive bundle of cables swept across a metal bridge before disappearing down inside the conning tower of the submarine. It looked like some weird umbilical cord.

"They must have used that hole in the side as a way to carry all the equipment into the submarine," whispered Zoe. "It must be nearly finished now if they're closing it up." Dan nodded. He agreed with her.

"What on earth does anyone want a massive submarine for ?" asked Dan. "They must cost a fortune to build and to run. It's the sort of thing whole countries pay for."

"Zoe shook her head. "I've got no idea. Do you think it's KORPS ?" she asked him.

"Who else would have that kind of money and organisational skills ?" asked Dan. "They've managed to hide it all this time too. It must take ages to build a submarine, and look how many people it takes to make one," he said, waving his arm at the hordes of people swarming all over the building. "How do you hide that many people coming to work in an empty building for a year ? It's got to be so difficult."

"Ooh look. Are those what I think they are ?" asked Zoe, pointing to a group of people carrying some long objects into the submarine. All of the welders stopped work and stood back as the long objects were carried carefully into the submarine.

"Those look like torpedoes or rockets," said Dan quietly. They looked at one another. They both looked worried. "So, KORPS have a submarine which is probably undetectable, and they can fire torpedoes from anywhere in the world. This is serious. We need to tell Frank. Then we need to get out of here," said Dan. The both pulled back from the edge of the balcony. Dan took out his mobile phone. He called Frank's number.

"Frank ! It looks like KORPS are building an enormous submarine and they're loading it with torpedoes," explained Dan. There was a silence at the other end of the phone. "Frank ?" said Dan, looking worried.

"Sorry Dan. I heard you. We were just shocked, that's all," said Frank's voice. "You should get out of there quickly. The battery on the laptop only has another 40 minutes on it. Have you managed to collect any information ?" he asked.

"We photographed some plans. I transferred some files on to my spy-pod, but I don't know if it worked or if the files are going to be any use," said Dan.

"I reckon I could get them off," said Tom from what sounded like a few feet away.

"No matter. I'm sure we'll be able to get something," said Frank. "Get yourselves out of there now," he instructed.

Dan closed the call and looked at Zoe. She nodded to him and they got up from their crouching positions to walk towards the corridor back the way they had come. They heard the door opening at the other end of the corridor. "Quick, this way !" hissed Zoe, pulling Dan further along the balcony. She'd spotted a door with a Ladies' Toilet symbol sticking out of the wall. "In here !" she ordered. Dan hesitated for a split second and Zoe hauled him in behind her. The door shut as they heard people coming out on to the balcony.

"There was another mobile signal from this area. Search everywhere !" barked a voice. Zoe and Dan looked at one another in horror and started searching for a hiding place or some means of escape. They couldn't find anywhere.

Out on the balcony, a team of security guards carrying weapons spread out along the balcony, opening doors and checking the rooms behind.

The door to the toilets banged open and a man carrying an automatic rifle stepped inside. He looked all around him, but couldn't see anyone. He pushed open the doors to each of the three cubicles, but they were empty. He was about to leave the small room when a drip landed on the floor in front of him. It was a red drip. He bent down to run his finger through it. It was blood. He looked up, but just too late.

Dan watched the security guard looking at the blood. Blast his cut wrist ! Shaking with the effort of pushing against the walls to hold himself against the ceiling, his cut wrist screaming with pain, Dan dropped down as the man looked up. He crashed into the guy, catching him by surprise. He pulled the weapon out of the stunned man's grasp and tossed it into a cubicle. Zoe dropped almost soundlessly to the floor and punched the man in the side of the head. He fell instantly unconscious. "Sorry Zoe," said Dan, panting. "What about the gun ?" he asked.

"Too noisy," said Zoe. "Come on, we need to move him out of sight." Together they dragged the unconscious man into a cubicle and balanced him on top of the toilet before pulling the door to. They dumped the gun in another cubicle. "Can you get back up there ?" Zoe asked him. Dan was wrapping some masking tape around his wrist to stop the blood dripping.

"I think so. So long as it's not for too long," he said. They both walked their way back up the walls to the ceiling. Dan braced himself and tried to ignore his wrist. He could do this. Only a few more minutes.


	8. Chapter 8

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? Thanks for the reviews. Always appreciated.**

"_Can you get back up there ?" Zoe asked him. Dan was wrapping some tape around his wrist to stop the blood dripping._

"_I think so. So long as it's not for too long," he said. They both walked their way back up the walls to the ceiling. Dan braced himself and tried to ignore his wrist. He could do this. Only a few more minutes._

Aneisha was shivering on her rooftop, wondering what was going on inside the shipyard. The amount of activity going on outside the building seemed to be increasing. A small group of people had come out and were working their way across the site, apparently searching for something. They all gathered around a wide hole in the ground talking and pointing. They then moved on round the site looking inside any small buildings and around piles of rubble. Eventually they seemed to give up and return inside the main building. Two stayed outside as if on guard duty. Aneisha thought she probably ought to report progress to Frank. If nothing else, it would give her a chance to move a bit.

"Frank, there's some more activity down in the factory," Aneisha announced over her walkie talkie. "I just watched a small group of people carrying out a search of the grounds. They converged on what looked like a hole in the ground and they've left a couple of guards outside the main doors," she reported.

"Thanks Aneisha. It's possible that the access tunnels which Zoe and Dan used are collapsing. This is not good news. Are you OK to stay up there for another half an hour or so ? I think we're going to have to help Dan and Zoe get out. It's sounds like it's getting more complicated," said Frank.

"Yeah, I'll be OK. It's getting a bit cold up here, but it won't be for that long. I hope they're OK in there," said Aneisha, feeling worried for her friends. "Bye."

Back at their caravan headquarters, Stella, Frank and Tom looked at one another. "What can we do to help them ?" asked Tom. He looked worried. Frank wondered why this mission was bothering him so much more than usual. Then he realised that normally Tom was listening in on everything that was going on, ready to give help when needed. This time he was cut off from his friends. He could watch where they were going, but he couldn't do anything.

"From what Aneisha says, it sounds like Dan and Zoe have triggered some sort of security action," said Frank. He desperately wanted to pace up and down to relieve his tension and help him think. Unfortunately after precisely two paces, he came face to face with the end of the caravan. A two pace walk was no good at all. He might as well stand still and spin round in circles, which is exactly what he felt like he was doing in his head !

"Could we set up some kind of diversion ?" asked Stella. "It might take some of the pressure off Dan and Zoe, divert some resources perhaps," she added.

"Or it could just make KORPS even more nervous and lock down the whole site," said Tom.

"What about backup ?" asked Stella. She looked into Frank's tense face.

"If Dan and Zoe get caught we're going to need a big force to get them out," said Frank. "If they do get out, it's going to take a large force to take on this massive KORPS operation. We can't let them launch that submarine," said Frank.

Stella nodded to him. "I'm going to get on to HQ. This is too big for your team now Frank," she said. Reluctantly Frank nodded his agreement. There was just the small matter of getting Zoe and Dan out first.

Dan was breathing heavily and trying to keep it quiet. His forehead was covered in beads of sweat. He could just as easily drip sweat as drip blood to give their hiding place away. He closed his eyes and hoped that nobody found them. He desperately didn't want to be the one who let Zoe down. The door banged open and a man came in. "Baynes !" shouted the KORPS heavy. He glanced around the room, but fortunately didn't search the cubicles. "Nah, he's not here," the man called out to his colleagues as he left the room. "Where the heck did he disappear to ? Asleep on the job again I reckon," he added. The door softly closed on their laughter. Dan glanced across at Zoe. She looked worried. He wanted to reassure her, but it was taking all his strength to keep himself up against the ceiling. He felt something wet trickling down the inside of his sleeve. Oh great ! He was seriously going to need a shower at the end of this. He certainly wasn't going to get one in that tiny caravan.

Finally they heard the thrum of heavy boots making their way down the metal balcony to the entrance corridor. "I think we can get down now," whispered Zoe. She walked her way back down between the walls, making it look effortless. Dan did it rather more clumsily. He didn't know why it was suddenly such an effort. Giving up and jumping the last short distance, Dan landed on his feet, but then sat down on the floor to get his breath back. His arm ached and he felt tired. "Are you OK ?" Zoe asked him. He nodded wearily.

"We need to get out of here," he whispered. "We'd better not use the phones again. We must have triggered some sort of sensor. I guess that's why MI9 don't usually use mobiles."

"We're not going to be able to call for backup," said Zoe.

"Well, if things get desperate, we'll have to do it anyway," said Dan. "It won't make things any worse then will it ?" he said, smiling grimly. "Let's see if the coast is clear yet." He was still getting up from the floor when Zoe walked to the door and glanced outside, looking both ways.

"I can't see anyone. It's so noisy down on the factory foor that I can't hear anything anyway. It might be better to find a different way out than the way we came in. There might be guards there now, if they're still looking for us," she said. Dan nodded. That sounded logical. Rubbing his forehead he tried to remember the plans for the building they'd looked at in the caravan.

"I think there's another set of stairs at the far end of the long walkway," said Zoe. Dan looked up at her in surprise.

"How do you remember that ?" he asked. "I can barely remember which floor was which."

"Well, I'm not absolutely sure," said Zoe hesitantly. Dan smiled up at her.

"Zoe, your best guess is good enough for me. I'd follow you anywhere," he said. Zoe looked at him fondly. He thought about what he'd just said and realised it was true. He trusted this girl like nobody else he knew. She held out her hand and helped him up. A wave of dizziness made him stagger slightly when he stood up properly. Zoe grabbed his arm to steady him, looking worried again. His sleeve felt wet and sticky inside where her hand pressed against it. "I'm OK. I'll tape this up a bit more," he said. "I don't want to leave a trail of little red dots for people to follow us," he added jokingly. With Zoe's help he taped up the end of his sleeve. He then wrapped some around the still unconscious guard in the toilet, and taped him to some pipes for good measure. That should slow him down a bit.

The cautiously left the toilets and ducking down low, crept along the balcony to the corridor entrance. Zoe looked round the corner and seeing nobody, dashed across to the other side. Dan followed and the two teens jogged quietly to the end of the wall. Crouching down, they looked out again at the activity going on below. The gap in the submarine wall was now completely filled. The welders were leaving. Even the cables going down into the submarine tower were being gradually disconnected and rolled up along the dry-dock wall.

"It looks like they're nearly finished," said Zoe, her eyes wide in alarm. "We should tell Frank."

"We can't phone him," pointed out Dan. "We should get out of here and then we can tell him ourselves," he suggested.

Zoe pointed down the length of the long wall of the building to the far end of the balcony. "I think there are some stairs down there," she said. "Shall we look in some of these rooms first ?" she asked.

Dan shrugged. "Why not ? Things can't get much worse," he said. Zoe looked at him hard. Sighing, he followed her down the walkway, bent double like her to try to avoid being seen from below. If anyone did see them however, they would probably wonder why two people were running along the balcony bent double. Zoe stopped outside a door marked 'Drawing Office'. She pressed her ear to the door and then tried the handle. It opened on to a large room filled with wooden desks. The room was deserted. "It doesn't look like they're using this room," commented Dan. They quickly toured the room but didn't find anything of interest apart from some old technical drawing tools abandoned by former workers. Everything was dusty and old.

"It looks quite sad, doesn't it ?" asked Zoe.

"Yes. I guess a lot of people must have worked here once," said Dan.

Quietly they both walked back to the door. Zoe checked the coast was clear and they set off down the balcony again. This time they didn't bother to stop to investigate any of the rooms. Finally they came to a set of double doors marked 'Emergency Exit'. Zoe grinned at Dan and opened the door. They both ducked inside and started running down the concrete stairs. After only a couple of flights, a klaxon started to blare out. "Intruder Alert ! All agents to stations ! Repeat, all agents to stations !" called out the expressionless voice.

Zoe and Dan stared at one another in horror. "I think they've found where we got in," said Dan.


	9. Chapter 9

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

_Finally they came to a set of double doors marked 'Emergency Exit'. Zoe grinned at Dan and opened the door. They both ducked inside and started running down the concrete stairs. After only a couple of flights, a klaxon started to blare out. "Intruder Alert ! All agents to stations ! Repeat, all agents to stations !" called out the expressionless voice. _

_Zoe and Dan stared at one another in horror. "I think they've found where we got in," said Dan._

"Intruder BZZZZUZZZ" went the announcement. Zoe's brow furrowed. "Intruder Intruder Intruder, um um um um, waaaah" went the announcement.

"What's the matter with it ?" asked Zoe.

"Not our problem. Let's get out of here !" said Dan.

Up on her rooftop Aneisha was watching some strange activity going on below. The two guards outside the factory started to walk away from the doors. Then they stopped, looked at one another and clapped their hands to their ears before pulling earpieces out of their ears and throwing them to the ground. They waved their arms at one another and then turned and went inside the building. Aneisha pulled out her walkie talkie.

"Frank, there's something going on. I just watched the guards outside the factory start behaving really strangely and then they pulled their earpieces out, threw them on the ground and went back inside the factory," Aneisha reported.

"That's interesting," said Frank thoughtfully. "Have they come back out again ?"

"Nope. No sign or them or any others," said Aneisha.

"Thanks Aneisha, that's worth knowing," said Frank. "Keep me updated. We may be about to organise some help for Dan and Zoe," he added, looking across at Stella. She was on her mobile phone and nodded back to him.

Tom looked across at Frank. "I've got an idea. Can you call Zoe and Dan ?" he asked.

Frank phoned the agents. "Team, what's your situation ?" he asked. There seemed to be a lot of background noise.

"We nearly got caught," reported Zoe. "They picked up our mobile phone signals and it triggered some kind of security alert. There's a big alert now because they've detected intruders. We're hiding in an old office at the moment. This alarm went off but then it seemed to go all strange and people are running around shouting that the systems are going crazy."

Frank looked at Tom who was grinning widely. "Did you plug any of your equipment into their network ?" he asked.

"I plugged my spy-pod into one of their computers," said Dan. "I tried to copy some files, but I don't know if it worked."

"I think you've infected their computer network," said Tom. "Brilliant. I wish I'd thought of it !" he said rocking back in his seat and laughing.

"OK, well that could be useful. I don't want to stay on the phone too long though," said Dan. "They might pick up on the signal again and then we're in deep trouble."

"Stella and I are organising a rescue team," said Frank. "Keep trying to get out, but we hope to be able to help you. Good luck and don't take any risks," he instructed. "Oh, and I think your access tunnel may have collapsed," he added.

There was a pause before Dan's voice said, "Yeah, we know. It was, erm, behind us," he said. "We need to find another way out. Any suggestions ?"

Tom had been rifling through the building blueprints. "There is a huge gate for access on to the river," he said. "I think there are some smaller doorways on that side too. You could try there," he said.

"Thanks Tom," said Dan. "We'd better close the call. We need to move."

Dan and Zoe looked at one another. They'd taken refuge in a small office cum storage room off the stairwell. They could hear people running past on the stairs every so often. The activity seemed to have died down a little. The klaxon alarm had gone silent. Presumably it had been turned off. "With a bit of luck they'll be too busy to worry about us," said Dan. "Shall we make a run for it ?" he asked.

Zoe nodded. Her face was calm and determined. "Are you OK ?" she asked.

"Yeah, why ?" asked Dan.

"You look a bit pale," said Zoe.

"Guess I'm nervous," said Dan. When he stood, another wave of dizziness hit him and he grabbed the wall to steady himself. This was not the time to get stressed. Half of his shirt inside his jacket now felt wet and sticky. He rubbed his face with his good hand. Get a grip Morgan !

"Let's see if we can find a door out on to the river entrance," said Zoe. Dan nodded. She gently opened the door and looked out, checking up and down the stairs. They were clear. Nodding back to Dan she slipped out of the door. Dan followed.

The two agents ran down the stairs as quietly as they could. At the bottom of the stairs were two sets of doors. They looked through the windows of one to see people moving about, gathering equipment and giving instructions. A team of security people were being given instructions by a woman. Zoe looked closely. It was the Crime Minister ! "Other way !" hissed Zoe. Without pausing to look properly, Zoe pushed the opposite doors open. Dan had no choice but to follow her.

"Why ?" he hissed in panic.

"Crime Minister !" hissed Zoe, flicking her thumb back over her shoulder.

"Oh. Fair enough," whispered Dan. He was puffing and trying to keep up with Zoe. Luckily for them both, the other doors lead through an empty corridor. It came to an end with a set of doors leading out to the factory floor. They looked cautiously through the glass on to the busy factory floor surrounding the submarine. Dan bent over, hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

"We could try just walking normally until someone spots us," suggested Zoe. She glanced back at Dan and looked concerned. "Dan, you're shaking," she said. He looked up at her and in the strip lighting of the corridor, she could see how pale he was. He looked ghostly. "Dan, you're not well. What's wrong ?"

"I d-d-don't know. Cold," said Dan quietly.

Zoe took Dan's arm and guided him through the doors. "We'll be fine," she said confidently. Holding his arm, she could feel the vibrations of his shivers. His breathing sounded strange, as if he was struggling. "Dan, is your cut bleeding ?" she asked quietly. They were now winding slowly through some machinery which had been left on the side of the dock.

"I I don't know. My sleeve's wet," he said. His voice sounded distant as if he were talking about someone else.

"Why didn't you say so ?" whispered Zoe gently.

"I th-th-thought I was just getting sweaty," explained Dan. "Not very nice," he added vaguely. He staggered slightly and Zoe steadied him.

"Just keep walking. I think I can see a door out of here," whispered Zoe. She pointed to a single width wooden door set into huge wooden doors at the end of the building.


	10. Chapter 10

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

"_Just keep walking. I think I can see a door out of here," whispered Zoe. She pointed to a single width wooden door set into huge wooden doors at the end of the building._

"Fan out and find them !" shouted the Crime Minister behind them. Zoe quickly pulled Dan down with her in between some large pieces of machinery. "Get this submarine ready for launch !" yelled the Crime Minister. "No more excuses ! Well fix the computers !" she shouted. It sounded like people were arguing with her, but she was not a woman to argue with. "Anyone else who objects will be dealt with. Any more ? No ! Good ! Get this machine launched. MI9 must have found us and I want this place evacuated and the submarine launched. Do I make myself understood ?" she almost screamed. Peering out from her hiding place, Zoe could see people scurrying to obey. She guessed they'd rather sink in a faulty submarine than be 'dealt with' by the Crime Minister.

"Dan, we might have to wait a bit," Zoe whispered. Dan didn't answer. He was sitting staring at his hands. "Dan ?" whispered Zoe. "Dan !" she shook his arm, mistakenly grabbing his wounded wrist.

"Ow !" groaned Dan, looking up in shock. He blinked and stared around him, his eyes finally coming to rest on Zoe's face. His breathing was laboured and shallow. "What ?" he asked, confused.

"Dan, you need to stay awake," said Zoe softly. "I think you must have lost a lot of blood."

"It's just a little cut," said Dan in protest.

"Yes, but it's had a long time to bleed," said Zoe firmly. "You have to stay awake. I can't carry you out of here, and I'm not leaving without you."

Before Dan could reply there was shouting and they were suddenly surrounded by KORPS agents. Dan and Zoe were grabbed and hauled out of their hiding place, their backpacks removed and they were dragged back to face the Crime Minister. "Well, well. Children again ! Do MI9 not have any proper agents left ?" the Crime Minister sneered. "And V95 ! How convenient. The Mastermind will be pleased," she said, snapping her fingers. The guards holding Zoe started to drag her towards the submarine.

"No !" Dan shouted. He struggled weakly against the men holding him, but he had no strength and ended up hanging limply in their grasp.

"Kill him !" ordered the Crime Minister. The two men dropped Dan on the floor and stepped back. Another guard pulled out a gun and pointed it at Dan's head. Dan stared up at the barrel of the gun looking resigned to his fate.

"No !" screamed Zoe, struggling against her captors. She kicked furiously at them, successfully freeing herself first from one and then the other. Breaking free, she hurtled towards the men surrounding Dan. Before she reached them, there was a bang. "No !" she screamed. With tears in her eyes she stared in horror as Dan slumped to the floor. Like a wild thing, she launched herself at the stunned guards. She knocked three unconscious before they even started to move to protect themselves. "I'll kill you !" screamed Zoe, hurling herself at the guards, like a whirling dervish.

She only paused when she found herself being surrounded by smoke. People were coughing and starting to run. There were more bangs and she saw the red laser sights of a SWAT team making their way through the building. It was MI9. It was too late. Feeling empty of emotion Zoe knelt down beside Dan's body. She gently brushed his hair back from his face. There was no bullet wound. Startled, she felt his neck for a pulse. He was alive ! The bang must have been an MI9 stun grenade. He was alive. She started to sob with relief and coughing from the smoke.

"Zoe ? What's the matter ?" said a quiet voice. Zoe looked down to see Dan staring up at her looking worried.

"Zoe !" she heard her name being called again. It was Frank, followed closely by Stella. They were in MI9 uniform.

"Frank ! Dan's been bleeding. He didn't know. He passed out, but he seems to be OK now," Zoe blurted out.

Stella stood guard while frank knelt beside the two teens. He felt Dan's pulse. "Where is he bleeding from Zoe ?" Frank asked.

"I am still here you know !" complained Dan. Zoe showed Frank Dan's taped up wrist. He carefully untaped it and blood immediately started to drip out of Dan's sleeve. "Oh yuk !" grumbled Dan.

"OK. We'll get the medics in as soon as we can," said Frank. He pulled out an enormous walkie talkie. "Agent down ! Need medical assistance immediately," he called.

"I am not down. I am sitting up," grumbled Dan, trying to sit upright. Frank pushed him back down. With Zoe's help he unzipped and gently pulled off Dan's jacket. His black shirt underneath was soaked in blood.

"Oh double yuk !" muttered Dan.

Zoe whimpered when she saw all the blood. "He said he felt sweaty," she whispered. "It must have been blood." Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Zoe, he's going to be fine. We just need to stop this bleeding," said Frank calmly. He wrapped a roll of material around Dan's forearm and twisted the ends to tighten it, making a tourniquet. "That should do it," he said. Two agents ran up to them, carrying heavy backpacks. They knelt down beside Dan, pulled on rubber gloves and started to check him over. They attached monitors and wrapped him in a space blanket to keep him warm.

Frank pulled Zoe back with him to give the medics room to work. "Let them do their job Zoe," said Frank gently. There was yelling behind them and they spun around to see the great doors at the end of the vast hall rolling open. Water started to flood into the previously dry dock and the submarine slowly started to bob free from its supports. There was a screaming of metal and clanking of chains being released. Slowly, the leviathan started to make its way out of the dock and towards the river.

"No ! We can't let them get away !" shouted Stella, watching helplessly as the submarine slowly chugged out of the dock and across the river. They watched in amazement as it continued to cross the wide river and run straight into the bank on the other side. It then reversed slowly back and started to turn. It didn't turn enough and banged into the dockside just outside the shipyard shed. There was a clang and screeching of metal. Then the huge machine started to slowly turn in a huge arc. It turned and turned, until it had completed a huge circle in the river coming right back to where it started from. Then it stopped dead and started to reverse again. This time it shot straight back into its dry dock and zoomed right to the end, crashing hard into the end of the dock. It hit the wall so hard that it lifted up at one end, lifting the propellors clean out of the water. They spun rapidly in thin air as the front end of the submarine sank slowly down to the bottom of the dock. Abruptly the propellors stopped turning and everything went quiet.

"Learner driver !" said Frank. Stella and Zoe giggled.

As the MI9 personnel surrounded the beached submarine, the conning tower hatch was thrown open and people started to pour out, with their hands on their heads. A board was put across to the submarine and people started to pour off and on to dry land, to be captured and tied up by the MI9 SWAT team. It was over.


	11. Chapter 11

**What happens when nothing does what it's supposed to do; if all you have left to rely on is your own wits ? **

_As the MI9 personnel surrounded the beached submarine, the conning tower hatch was thrown open and people started to pour out, with their hands on their heads. A board was put across to the submarine and people started to pour off and on to dry land, to be captured and tied up by the MI9 SWAT team. It was over._

It wasn't long before Dan was being loaded into an MI9 ambulance, still complaining that he was fine and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. Zoe couldn't help laughing in spite of her shock from the sight of all the blood. One of the medics grinned at her. "I'm tempted to let him stand up just so he'll pass out and we'll get a quiet ride back to the hospital," the woman joked. "You coming too ?" she asked. Zoe glanced at Frank who smiled and nodded.

"We'll debrief later Zoe," he promised. Smiling her thanks she got in the ambulance with Dan.

"Dan," said Zoe.

"What ?" asked Dan.

"Keep quiet and lie still. They're still pouring blood back into you," she ordered him.

"Oh. OK," said Dan. He pointed with his good hand up at the long plastic tube dripping from a plastic bag of clear fluid and raised his eyebrows. The paramedic nodded to him.

"Blood plasma," she said. "It'll do until we get you to hospital. Then you'll get the red stuff."

Feeling the energy of his adrenalin rush now draining out of his body, Dan felt incredibly tired. He yawned and looked round at Zoe whose lovely green eyes were staring back at him. "It was only a little cut," he said softly. Zoe smiled at him as his eyelids drooped and he fell asleep.

Dan slept through his arrival at hospital, the stitching and dressing of his wrist and even having the sticky layer of blood washed off his body before being put to bed with a fresh bag of blood dripping steadily into his arm.

With treatment over Zoe was allowed to join Dan in his room. He was still pale and Zoe thought he looked much younger asleep. She gently stroked his hair, but he didn't wake. After a short while she was joined by Aneisha and Tom. They both gave her a hug and asked after Dan. The doctor had told her that Dan would make a full recovery, he just needed time to rest so that his blood levels could return to normal. The three of them chatted happily, with Zoe updating them on what had happened. Tom and Aneisha were horrified when Zoe told them about the roof of the tunnel caving in on top of them.

"Oh no ! I would so hate that," exclaimed Aneisha. "I hate being in small spaces. Just crawling through air conditioning ducts gives me the creeps. Aw, that would give me nightmares !" she added, screwing up her face at the thought of being buried under rubble. Dan stirred and murmured and they all turned to look at him, but he still didn't wake up.

"I knew field work was way too dangerous," said Tom. "Still, I didn't like this mission. I didn't know what was happening and I couldn't help you at all," he complained. "I'll be glad when we get all our tech back."

"I never want to have to heft one of those massive walkie talkies around again !" said Aneisha.

"Dan said it was good because we could say anything we liked and nobody would hear us," laughed Zoe.

"Oh yeah, and what sort of things was he saying then ?" asked Aneisha, teasing Zoe.

Zoe realised she'd dropped herself and Dan in it and tried desperately to think of anything other than what Dan had actually said to her. He would not be pleased if she gave it away.

"I said how bad Tom smells in a tiny little caravan," said Dan's voice quietly. They all turned round and grinned with delight. Zoe leant over and kissed him.

"Glad you could join us Dan," said Aneisha.

"I do not smell !" complained Tom, although he was smiling. He had a pretty good idea what Dan would be saying to Zoe when nobody was listening.

Frank and Stella came into the room and looked pleased to see Dan awake. "Well done everyone," said Frank. "You've successfully crushed this KORPS operation. The submarine is now completely unusable."

"Did MI9 get the Crime Minister ?" asked Zoe.

Stella shook her head regretfully. "No she got away again. I don't know how the woman does it. She's as slippery as an eel," she complained. "We got the submarine and all the torpedoes though, so that will have to do."

"Why did the submarine crash about like that ?" asked Zoe.

Frank grinned. "Ah well, when Dan connected his spy-pod to the KORPS network it appears he transferred the KORPS virus on to their own network. It infected all of their computers and equipment, including the systems on the submarine. They couldn't steer it because their control systems went completely haywire," he explained. "It also knocked out their security systems which made it easy for our SWAT team to get access to the building."

"I wish I'd seen that submarine careering all over the river," said Tom grinning. "Did anyone spot it ?" he asked. "It's not something you see every day."

"A few people did see it, but they didn't realise what it was," explained Frank. "We're telling the media it was some underwater debris coming loose in the river," he said. "The whole site is being shut down now."

"Our technical department are working on stripping out the virus from our network now that they've managed to isolate it. You should have all your usual equipment back soon," said Stella.

"And you can get out of that caravan ?" said Dan quietly.

Stella smiled widely. "Such a shame. I was starting to like the place," she said.

"You could move in permanently," suggested Tom with a wicked grin.

"I don't think so," said Stella stiffly, pulling her jacket down straight. They all giggled and she realised she was being teased.

"How are you feeling now Dan ?" Stella asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," said Dan. "Bit tired I suppose," he admitted. He looked much more than a bit tired. He looked weary and his face was still very pale.

"The doctors want you to stay in overnight Dan," said Frank. "You'll have to take it easy for a couple of days."

Dan seemed to accept this. He obviously felt worse than he was letting on.

"Right, well I think we ought to be going. You get plenty of rest Dan and we'll see you back next week," said Frank. They all said their goodbyes. Zoe and Aneisha both gave Dan a big hug which made him smile.

Back in an abandoned Glasgow shipyard, metal cutters were ripping through the hull of a submarine, sparks flying everywhere, transforming it into piles of scrap metal. The entrances to the access tunnels were being buried to prevent anyone else being trapped. Quiet was slowly returning to the derelict site.

The End


End file.
